LaConner Tannenbaum Ale

Brewed by LaConner Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
LaConner, Washington USA

Draught at the brewpub (9%). Clear brownish amber. Fruity toffee aroma with some gingersnaps. Sweet with lots of caramel and molasses as well as dough and red berries. The hop rate is low. A warming beer with a lot going on, but also a bit too sweet and mushy.

Draught, at the brewpub

Slight haze. Reddish-brown colour. Rather butterscotchy aroma with a little bit of malt. Palate is rich and malty, with butterscotch (much less than in the aroma, thankfully), earth, a hint of pine, and plenty of toffee. Chewily sweet finish. Alcohol lingers late on the palate. Despite the problematic aroma, this is actually quite a good ESA.

(12oz. bottle, 2003 vintage) Pours a deep amber body with no head. Aroma of caramel, cherry, toffee, butterscotch, and old books. Flavor of caramel malt, toffee, cherry, rum, and raisins.

Pours a dark ruby brown with a thin off-white head. Very complex caramel malty aroma with plenty of western hop presence. Body starts thick and caramely sweet with some fresh bittering hops and puckering oak tart-like finish. Good complexity and balance throughout. A very nice English strong ale.

Bottle-In the vaulst of HI International. Pretty piney and hoppy in flavour. Woody, citrusy. Syrupy texture, slightly sticky, leafy finish. OK, a touch too sweet and sticky.

2003 vintage. Has an exceptionally nice aroma full of juniper, scotch, light alcohol apparency, with some resiny, grassy porter-style roasted malts. Resiny coating, super rich and peaty up front, slightly buzzing the tongue. Great flavor, and the hops are quite evident. Rich and structured and robust without being chewy. 2.5 years old at the time of sampling, and it held up very well. I don’t buy that most mid-to-high strength American ales improve with age, or even hold up well, but this one was amazing with a couple of years.

First rating the numbers were considerabley lower, about 3.7 overall. It was a different experience.

Dark red color, lots of light tan head with sheets of lacing. The aroma is full of bittering hops, dark caramel (molasses?) and some alcohol. Sweet finish with some maltose and hops in the finish. Blends very well, good balance. Thanks Brian!

bottled. copper brown colour. decent pine and orange rind aroma, quite full, slightly woody, vanilla character. some raisins and port but thankfully not ridiculously sticky, just could use more bitterness. pretty festive anyway